The present invention relates to a displaying method in an information processing apparatus. More particularly, it relates to a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that is capable of displaying a picture which enables a user to easily operate the information processing apparatus when he or she uses it so as to execute some kind of processing.
When a user, using an information processing apparatus, wishes to execute some kind of processing so as to accomplish a purpose, it is common for he or she to select either of the following approaches: Proceeding to processing which is oriented toward an object to be processed (referred to as object oriented processing hereinafter) or proceeding to processing which is oriented toward a task to be processed (referred to as task oriented processing).
Meanwhile, a conventional displaying method in information processing apparatuses is configured in such a manner that operation is possible from only one of the two approaches, i.e. object oriented processing or task oriented processing.
Also, processing in information processing apparatuses using the displaying method according to the conventional technique is started by an indirect operation such as a single click with a mouse with respect to a plurality of processings that are being displayed.
Moreover, as the conventional technique concerning the displaying method in information processing apparatuses, a variety of displaying methods have been proposed for an enhancement in the usability of information processing apparatuses.
In the above-described conventional techniques, operation is possible only from either of the approaches, i.e. object oriented processing or task oriented processing. This results in a problem that it is difficult to effectively deal with a lot of tasks and various types of objects. Also, in the conventional techniques, only either of the approaches is usable. This brings about a problem that a flexible operation is difficult to achieve.
Also, in the above-described conventional techniques, execution of a command that requires an enormous amount of access time is stated upon an indirect operation such as a single click with a mouse. This gives rise to a problem that, if a command is selected that is against an intention of the user, this operation mistake will cause an enormous amount of waiting time to occur.
Also, the above-described conventional techniques have a problem that, when a displaying is executed using an expandable/reducible tree having a hierarchical structure, it is impossible to display states, such as an emergency state of a leaf node hidden under a higher order node.
Also, in the above-described conventional techniques, information the attributes of which are different for each of a plurality of independent windows or frames are displayed on the windows or frames. This condition results in a problem that there exists a limitation to the monitor resolution and, in the case of a large number of pictures involved, the apparatus becomes difficult to operate. Also, since the plurality of pictures are displayed in parallel at a time, it is difficult to impress, on the user, a situation that one object is being displayed from a variety of viewpoints.
Also, in the above-described conventional techniques, when a lot of execution results are concentrated in a schedule area within a fixed period of time, symbols representing the execution results are displayed in a state of being physically overlapped with each other. This condition results in a problem that it is difficult to arbitrarily identify the symbols within the schedule area by operations such as the mouth operation. Incidentally, in the above description, the schedule area means an area where execution results of a Job and a JobNet, i.e. execution forms, are displayed in time series with the use of tabular form.
Also, the above-described conventional techniques have a problem that when, in a display using a tab, an event requiring an emergent processing occurs within a tab, the conventional technique, if the tab is hidden, is incapable of displaying the event that has occurred within the hidden tab.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide, by solving the above-mentioned problems in the conventional techniques, a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that makes the following processings possible: Executing the operation from either of the two approaches, i.e. the processing oriented toward an object to be processed or the processing oriented toward a task to be processed, and effectively dealing with a lot of tasks and various types of objects, and achieving a flexible operation.
Also, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that decreases operation mistakes such as selection of a command that is against an intention of the user, thereby preventing a waiting time due to the operation mistakes from occurring.
Also, it is a third object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that makes the following processings possible: Displaying states such as an emergency state of a leaf node hidden under a higher order node when a displaying is executed using an expandable/reducible tree having a hierarchical structure, and impressing on the user a situation that one object is being displayed from a variety of viewpoints even when a plurality of pictures are displayed in parallel at a time.
Also, it is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that, even when a lot of execution results are concentrated in the schedule area within a fixed period of time, prevents symbols representing the execution results from being physically overlapped with each other, thereby making it possible to arbitrarily identify any symbols within the schedule area by operations such as the mouth operation.
Also, it is a fifth object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that allows information varying with time to be displayed as a time series picture and, out of the information displayed in the time series picture, allows detailed information within a designated time period to be displayed along with time information.
Also, it is a sixth object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that, when, in a display using a tab, an event requiring an emergent processing occurs within a tab and further even if the tab is hidden, makes it possible to display the event that has occurred within the hidden tab.
Also, it is a seventh object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that, when a plurality of pictures are opened simultaneously, makes it possible to select whether the plurality of pictures are opened on a new window or on one and the same window.
Also, it is an eighth object of the present invention to provide a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that makes it possible to open a sub picture on one and the same window in the case where it is possible to select opening a plurality of pictures simultaneously and in addition the sub picture is a modal picture and thus it is impossible to perform a deactivated control of operation of a parent picture.
According to one aspect of the present invention, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described first object is accomplished by the following transactions: Displaying on a display apparatus both a display that permits a task to be processed to be selected and a display that permits an object to be processed to be selected, and making it possible to execute in an arbitrary order a step of selecting the task to be processed and a step of selecting the object to be processed, and also displaying the display that permits the task to be processed to be selected and the display that permits the object to be processed to be selected in such a manner that the two displays are separated into two tabs, respectively.
Also, the above-described first object is accomplished by the following transactions: If the task to be processed is selected, an object to be processed that is processible by the selected task to be processed is displayed, and if the object to be processed is selected, a task to be processed that is capable of processing the selected object to be processed is displayed.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus that displays on a display apparatus both a display that permits a task to be processed to be selected and a display that permits an object to be processed to be selected, and makes it possible to execute in an arbitrary order a step of selecting the task to be processed and a step of selecting the object to be processed, the above-described second object is accomplished by the following transaction: If a processing of performing an access through a network is selected, the access is started after a two-step operation has been executed.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described third object is accomplished by displaying an emergency or error state of a layer node that is even lower than the lowest layer node displayed in an interface having a hierarchical structure, the layer node not being displayed in the interface.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described fourth object is accomplished by the following transactions: Displaying information varying with time as a time series picture, and displaying details of the information as another picture, and in addition, making it possible to perform a switching between the display in the time series picture and the display in another picture, and also displaying, regardless of the switching, information on a hierarchical structure of an interface that is common to the display in the time series picture and the display in another picture.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described fifth object is accomplished by displaying information varying with time as a time series picture and by displaying, out of the information displayed in the time series picture, detailed information within a designated time period along with the time information.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described sixth object is accomplished by the following transactions: Information are presented within a plurality of tabs and, when the predetermined state is generated within a tab being not displayed, the event is displayed on the displayed picture.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described seventh object is accomplished by making it possible to select whether a plurality of pictures are opened on a new window or on one and the same window when the plurality of pictures are opened simultaneously.
Also, in a displaying method in an information processing apparatus, the above-described eighth object is accomplished by the following transactions: Making it possible to open a sub picture on one and the same window when it is possible to select opening a plurality of pictures simultaneously and in addition the sub picture is a modal picture and thus it is impossible to perform a deactivated control of operation of a parent picture, and also when a plurality of items and a plurality of item contents are displayed in correspondence with each other, displaying them in such a manner that, for each of display areas of the items and for each of the item contents, a color of the background or a color of the character is changed.
Incidentally, in the above description, the word xe2x80x9cmodalxe2x80x9d means that, when a sub picture opened from a picture is modal, it is impossible to perform operation of the original picture while the sub picture is being displayed. Also, in the following explanation of embodiments in the present invention, the word xe2x80x9cmodelessxe2x80x9d means that, when a sub picture opened from a picture is modeless, it is possible to perform, while the sub picture is being displayed, operation of the original picture in parallel with the sub picture.